On Thursday, Greece officially opened the proceedings of a committee tasked with overseeing preparations to mark the bicentenary of the 19th-century War of Independence against Ottoman Turkey, which led to the creation of the modern Greek state.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in his remarks at the opening that the bicentennial will be “an opportunity for reflection” and to “become re-acquainted” with Greek history and identity.
Speaking at a special session of the Parliament, Mitsotakis said that “our generation has a duty to show what we have achieved in two centuries of freedom…Today we are called upon to re-position Greece in the world… I expect that the 200 years since the Greek Revolution will be linked with the years that lie ahead of us.”
The session was attended by President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and businesswoman Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, the head of the “Greece 2021” organizing committee, best known as the president of the bidding and organizing committees for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
On Wednesday, it was announced that Historians Mark Mazower and Stathis Kalyvas are among several eminent academics who will join the 30-member bicentennial committee.
Nicos Mouzelis, an emeritus sociology professor at the London School of Economics, and Konstantinos Tsoukalos, a renowned Greek sociologist and criminologist, are also to join the panel which will coordinate the event.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
